NFL legend Champ Bailey honors ‘most positive’ Colorado student athletes

High school athletes, two coaches and an athletic director were honored for being the “most positive” in Colorado at the Douglas County School District Legacy Campus in Lone Tree June 2.

Pro Football Hall of Famer and Broncos legend Champ Bailey is the Positive Athlete organization’s lead athlete. Bailey helped to recognize the top seven male and female athletes in high school sports who displayed the highest character and generated overall positivity on and off the field.

The full list of recipients includes students from schools across Colorado, from Colorado Spring to Fort Collins and Breckenridge to La Junta.

• Alex Beasley – Lewis-Palmer (Monument)
• Avery Leman – Poudre (Fort Collins)
• Jaden Francis – Elizabeth (Elizabeth)
• Jay Peltier (coach) – Summit (Breckenridge)
• Katherine Lorck – Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs)
• Kevin Prosser III – Rangeview (Aurora)
• Kinsley Mayo – La Junta Jr/Sr (La Junta)
• Liam Graham – Standley Lake (Westminster)
• Megan Waters – Lakewood (Lakewood)
• Peighton Marrero – Strasburg (Strasburg)
• Ray Lopez (coach) – Abraham Lincoln (Denver)
• Rhett McDonald – Wiley (Wiley)
• Roxann Serna (athletic director) – Centennial (San Luis)
• Ryan Cornell – Longmont (Longmont)
• Sage Adkins – Rock Canyon (Highlands Ranch)
• Simon Lunsford – Green Mountain (Lakewood)
• Staia Yohe-Savage – George Washington (Denver)

“I’d seen their Positive Athlete nominations and bios, but meeting and celebrating the winners in person exceeded all expectations,” Bailey said. “It’s easy to see why they are the future leaders in their communities and the workforce. I’m excited to follow them as they lean in to take advantage of the ever-growing resources offered by Positive Athlete—not just to winners but to all nominees.”

More than 440 nominations from coaches, principals, athletic directors, teachers and parents were submitted for the Positive Athlete program state-wide, representing 197 different public and private high schools (equivalent to 53% of all Colorado high schools with formalized athletics programs).

Nominations covered all 27 state-sanctioned sports as well as e-sports, archery, equestrian, martial arts, motocross, ultimate, Unified Sports and more.

Considerations for awards included if students displayed how positive athletes “O.P.E.R.A.T.E.” (Optimistic, Put team first, Encouraging, Respectful, Admits imperfections, True heart for others and Embraces service).

Five scholarships were awarded, totaling $8,000. 

Standley Lake High School’s Graham won the male O.P.E.R.A.T.E. Award, while Leman from Poudre won the female O.P.E.R.A.T.E. Award. Each received $2,500 toward their chosen academic institution or trade school. Additionally, Mayo, McDonald and Yohe-Savage received Positivity Champ Awards, including a $1,000 scholarship.

“I think that being recognized as a Positive Athlete really gave me more confidence not only in my athletics but also in my everyday life, like I was being seen for the work I was putting into my everyday life and my positivity through times of difficulty and struggle,” said Waters from Lakewood. “I loved being able to meet the other kids and parents being awarded, because you can really tell that it’s a good group of kids and they were all raised by incredible people. They are all so kind.”

Nominations will reopen in the Fall for the next school year. However, Positive Athlete is currently taking pre-nominations at www.PositiveAthlete.org, which will trigger an automatic reminder when nominations reopen.